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I.
Kakashi hates spring. The temperature swings between cold, warm, hot and chilly, so whatever he wears never seems weather appropriate for more than a couple hours.
Worst of all it's the pollen. It finds its way to him no matter what he does: staying downwind, not even cracking a window open, wrapping a scarf around his face if he absolutely has to go out… Kakashi always ends up with aching sinuses, running nose, and sneeze attacks.
"Blow."
He glares at Father, who's pressing a handkerchief to his nose as if he were a toddler.
Father merely arches an eyebrow.
Kakashi blows.
Unbecoming. Undignified. Verk- Verxa-
"Vexatious", Father says, "is the word you're looking for."
Kakashi narrows his eyes at his back. Its slight shake is very suspicious.
Taking advantage that Dad went further into the house, Kakashi mouths the word, testing the positioning of tongue and lips around the syllables and committing them to memory.
"I have something for you", Father says, holding a squared wrapping.
"If it's another kerchief box", Kakashi sniffs grumpily, "I still have the ones from last week."
With Dad seated on the kotatsu in front of him, he has full view of his amusement.
"It's not", he promises. "I bypassed this store on my last mission…"
Kakashi perks up at that. Father only brings things when he's not on a S-rank. Which, being who he is, it's almost never.
"...and saw this on the rack." He slides the bag to him. "Try it out for a couple days, and let me know if it helps", he gets up, suddenly energized. "I'll make dinner! I've been meaning to try this dish..."
The paper wrapping wrinkles when Kakashi unconsciously tightens his hold. "Whatever this is, I doubt it can help with your food adventures. Please, stick with what you know."
Father squawks indignantly.
"I'll be off", Father announces, shouldering his mission pack.
"Hm, we'll be here."
Father's smile widens, looking down first at little Pakkun napping at Kakashi's feet, then a little bit less down at Kakashi's cheeks.
He tugs up the cloth mask.
Father's eyes turn into crescents. "I'll try to bring more."
Kakashi nods, certain that the mask is hiding his reddening face. In the end, he didn't have to report the efficiency of the shirt-with-mask-attached. Dad just knew.
Kakashi waves him goodbye one last time by the door. Soon, the shock of white hair - much like his own - disappears from view.
At this time of the day, the heat of the sun is blinding, but the shadows offer a moderate protection along with the incessant breeze.
Filtred through the mask, the smell of grass, of blooming flowers, and of the cacophonies of trees that surround the Hatake Compound is a strange kind of familiar. With his nasal passages unblocked for once, springtime might actually be pretty okay.
II.
Akino and Bisuke pick up a trail. Inu signals to his colleagues FOLLOW in standard field code. Without missing a beat, the Hyuuga trio split up: one with Inu, while the other two continue their own search in case the dogs caught a failsafe.
Even so, it doesn't escape Inu that, out of the three, it's the Hyuuga branch member that is accompanying him.
A few minutes later, Hyuuga signals POSITIVE THREE UNKNOWN.
E. T. A., he sighs back.
THREE FOUR.
Inu sends Akino to double back, and forces his temporary partner to slow down a notch. In seven minutes Akino would have delivered the warning to at least one team. PURSUIT NOT ENGAGE.
The Hyuuga obeys, glaring. The message on their twisted face is clear: if we lose our clan heir because of you...
Inu opens his left eye. Let the byakugan take care of the chakra signatures, he will deal with any surprises left behind.
It seems like the Kumo ninja's plan was to run like the bijū were on their heels, because the sharingan hasn't spotted anything but real trees and foliage. To their credit, they are very fast and resilient to be able to keep running full tilt for what must have been over an hour already.
Very soon, the time afforded to pursuit only will end. Inu and Hyuuga have no better options than to engage in front combat against three unevaluated ninja, who are carrying a high profile and defenceless hostage.
Hyuuga warns: ENEMY AHEAD. Which means that they'd slowed down, maybe due to tiredness, maybe to meet them half way.
Inu summons the rest of his ninken without changing pace. With a few hand codes, seven dogs scatter.
The ANBU and his partner charge at the enemy at full speed. Inu goes straight to the one with the heiress, whose dark eyes goggles at his aggressive approach. The ninja jumps away awkwardly just in time to avoid Inu's wind spear, only to have to escape from Hyuuga's hands.
Inu upturns the earth under their feet, which barely makes them pause. He brings out the blades and attacks just as much as defends.
Hyuuga's Gentle Fist and Earth Release are solid, and they maneuver swiftly around Inu. But Kumo manages to constantly switch between themselves to never leave the one with the hostage alone. Soon, Inu and Hyuuga are too preoccupied to stop the ninja from slipping away with the child.
Inu deflects a myriad of shuriken hiding a lightning web by sticking himself on one of the high branches of the giant tree.
Taking the opening, Hyuuga attacks with a powerful Kaiten, and Inu pursuits the third ninja, leaving his fellow Konoha to deal with the consequences of their chakra dome.
Meters later, Bisuke, who had stayed on the major target's trail, spots him, and immediately turns back around to lead the way.
The sharingan picks up a speck of blood. Then another. The further they go, the nearer to one another. Clearly not enough to slow them down, but still good.
Inu ducks a ninja wire trap effortlessly. The opponent's back is in sight, their hostage in a tight cloth bumble glued to it.
Five ninken crash through the surface, and sink their sharp teeth into wherever part of the enemy they can reach.
Inu sends a lightning chakra web. Through the holes his dogs left, there's no non-conductive material to neutralize it, and the ninja doesn't react fast enough to deflect all of the jutsu.
A much kinder spark pokes the child's forehead, only enough for the static to repel the chakra holding them in place.
Under bristled dark hair, big white eyes watch on. A vein, branching out to the temple, slightly bulged.
Huh. A little young for that. Nothing like what he has heard about the three year old clan heir- Oh.
The child falls with a high pitched yelp.
Buru comes from the shadows to snatch the child mid-air between his jaws, and expertly throws it on his massive back. Pakkun jumps from Buru's head to land on their charge, and they run towards Konoha with the pack in formation around them.
Judging from Hyuuga's chakra flare answering him back, they will cross paths in a few. It's safe to presume that the other two foes are secured or dead, and that, by now, the teams deployed to run the enemy into a corner are aware of the situation.
Injured, hostageless, and alone, his opponent's best option is to evade or kill him. After a short, but brutal fight, Inu successfully knocks them out.
Secondary objective complete.
When Inu, Hyuuga and Neko arrive at the North Gate, they are redirected by ANBU Hebi. Neko and Hebi are to deliver the Kumo ninja (one corpse, two alive) to T&I. Inu and Hyuuga are to report pronto.
Sandaime, Clan Head Hyuuga Hiashi, his twin, one clan member that had separated from Inu's lead, plus a fuckton of tension receive them at the Hokage's office.
Akino, who was lazing by the door, stands at attention by Inu's side.
They are informed that the major objective was met: the ninken deposited the child with one of the Uchiha Police teams posted outside village walls.
Sandaime orders oral report. Well versed on it, neither the Hyuuga branch member nor the ANBU take long.
"My ninken's underground attack provided an opportunity to release the lightning web jutsu favorably", Inu wraps up. "In turn, my summon was able to seize the child."
The Clan Head demands to know why Hatake had used forceful attacks at close range with his nephew.
I was right, Kakashi vaguely acknowledges.
"Any means I used were carefully calculated, Hiashi-sama", Inu responds levelly. "I would never take an opening that could needlessly harm the child."
Hizashi visibly grits his teeth. "The medic reported foreign chakra on my son. Neji claims that none of the Kumo men used chakra to hurt him."
"I'm glad to know that, Hizashi-sama."
"Can you be absolutely certain that your web didn't affect him?!", he spits out, enraged.
"Yes."
"Yuki", Hiashi barks before his brother does.
"Hiashi-sama", the Hyuuga beside him bows deeply, and proceeds to rephrase what they had already said. "I wasn't present when ANBU Inu rescued Neji-sama. I met the pack on the way, who had him secured with chakra. I confirmed that Neji-sama was unhurt, only scared, and sent them to the nearest friendly team.
"When I arrived, Inu was apprehending the third Kumo", they pause for a mere beat. "The first engagement was countered with many jutsus, mostly lightning style. It is not impossible that the trace found in Neji-sama is due to chakra charge vestige."
Hyuuga Yuki's impassiveness is on par with Inu's stationary mask as they remain unresponsive to the following back-and-forth between the Main Branch and Sarutobi.
Once the Hyuuga entourage leaves, Sandaime sighs, and lits his pipe. He smokes in silence. Watches the motionless ANBU with his equally motionless ninken.
"Kakashi", he says, apparently coming to some sort of decision. "It's good that we were able to capture two of them alive."
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
"Kumo will press their one loss, for sure, but we had you at the outskirts patrol tonight…", his eyes harden. "I trust that that jutsu is coming along well?"
"Uchiha Mikoto-sama has deemed it perfected."
"Good. I suspect that you will have to perform the Sharingan Memory Reenacting Jutsu before this mess is over", Sarutobi gives him a significant look. "Be sure to properly judge what is important to show."
"I will practice", he bows in compliance.
III.
The Gallery Center at the civilian district is holding a photography workshop. The information is written on a huge banner tied on the rooftop that Tanuki is hidden.
Only half an hour into the first of four planned exercises, the list of skills his subordinates have to polish grows by the minute.
At late evening, he dismisses (panting, disheveled) Team Rō with an eye smile and gives them the next day off. He tells them that he'll be planning and arranging training regimes based on their performances.
Kakashi didn't lie. It's just that what he does with his personal time isn't any of their concern.
Before he was made their captain, all of three days ago, Kakashi went on a number of solo missions that had required close reconnaissance. For reasons and situations that don't bear thinking, he had to step up his improvisation skills.
The ability to use any and every resource and opportunity for the betterment of the mission, and of oneself, is imperative. "A shinobi must prepare before it is too late", after all.
Outfitted with purple face adhesive, a brown wig, contact lenses, a semi-professional camera and its case, Sukea heads for the Gallery Center. According to the beaten-up flier, it is located at Minamoto District, third block, building 1.
Sukea looks around the gallery hall, curiously. Various enlarged pictures are displayed on tripods and arranged on a semi-circle. Inside it, a dozen or so mismatched people, carrying more or less the same bag as him, mingle.
They seem very animated, so, with high expectations, he joins them.
"Heidi-sensei's lightning work is amazing", a woman sighs.
Both of them are appreciating the warm-tinted photo of the Hokage Monument that was taken either during sunrise or sunset. Who knows? Certainly not Sukea.
"Sensei must have a lot of patience to be able to capture a shot like this", Sukea agrees, admiringly. "The colors of his pieces are stunning!"
"Is that your favorite characteristic?", she turns to him.
"Yes!". Sukea cringes over his own enthusiasm, but the woman's open expression spurs him to continue: "I'm hoping to learn how to better capture contrast."
The woman nods sympathetically, but doesn't get a chance to respond because Heidi-sensei himself - a short, grinning, dark-skinned man - monopolizes the attention of his temporary students.
The following four hours are packed with practical lessons: snapping different objects at various angles, then profiles, or poses, or partials of people, ending with a trip to the rooftop. The view is nothing special, but Heidi-sensei shows them many tricks to potentialize the natural light.
Sukea leaves the gallery with friendly acquaintances, an understanding of the technical functions of his camera, and a stronger regard for aesthetics.
Hatake Kakashi jumps in the shower with a protesting stomach, mentaly adjusting the training plan he had spent most of the previous night writing up. Team Rō will benefit from adding more variety to their individual strengths.
(Three months later finds Kakashi concealed on a tree, during post-mission downtime, on guard duty.
It's quiet, except for the occasional bird singing and the flutter of wings, with only one person for company - who is unaware of his presence.
Risk of discovery for the next twenty seconds: null.
Aiming through optical lens, adjusting filter and zoom, he immortalizes the small blond figure snoozing on the multicolored-dotted mattress below.
It's less detailed than what Obito's eye imprints on his mind, but this way he has something other than words to offer when he next visits the Memorial Stone.)